Falling from a Great Height: Principles of Good Practice in Performance Measurement and the Perils of Top Down Determination of Performance Indicators

Abstract

The author uses an evaluator's perspective and practical experience of implementing performance measurement systems in the public, private and voluntary sectors to devise ten principles of good practice in performance measurement: conceptualisation, stakeholder approach, clarity, balance, ownership, usefulness, accuracy, contextualisation, dynamism and value for money. These principles are not easily achieved and require adjustments that are difficult to implement in top down performance measurement systems. Locally determined performance measurement systems have a higher chance of meeting learning-based and practical purposes of performance measurement as opposed to political and symbolic purposes. Incorporating an evaluation element can moderate some of the potential weaknesses of a top down approach and take advantage of the scale of a national system to provide a powerful contextualised learning repository.